Republicans protest tax-increase legislation

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Dozens of Republican state lawmakers, their staff members and others gathered in the Capitol atrium yesterday to protest the handful of tax hikes being considered by the Legislature.

Republicans criticized proposals passed by the Senate Ways and Means Committee that would increase the general excise tax from 4 percent to 4.5 percent for education initiatives and to give the counties authority to impose a 1 percent sales tax. They also criticized measures advancing in the Legislature that would impose a $10 monthly tax to pay for a long-term-care program.

"When you raise taxes you take money out of our pockets, and we have less money to spend," said House Minority Leader Galen Fox, R-23rd (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kaka'ako). "If we have less money to spend, we don't go into stores and buy things and other people get laid off. So when you raise taxes, you put people out of work."

Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brian Taniguchi, D-10th (Manoa, McCully), said public education will suffer significant cuts without raising the general excise tax and that the tax increases are necessary to help balance the budget.